


Poisoned

by Alverrann



Category: Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Arthur Is There, Batman Is Irrational, Bruce Is Kinda A Turd, But He's Chill, Clark Is The Best Friend, Diana Blames Men For Everything, Gen, Green Lantern Rings Are Awesome, Hal And Barry And Ollie Are The Worst Team, Hurt!Hal, Hurt!Justice League, J'onn Is Chiller, Justice League Being Awesome, Lotsa Whump All Around, Poison, SO MANY TAGS!!, but that's nothing new, hurt!Arthur, so much poison
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2019-12-30 05:59:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18309596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alverrann/pseuds/Alverrann
Summary: What can cause a Green Lantern to lose the will to live?No, what can cause Hal Jordan to lose the will- … to do anything?No one knows, but the Justice League had better find out before another one of them falls victim. The entire world could be at stake.





	1. Poisoned

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I own not ONE of these beautiful characters! All I got is a terrible story idea and the desire to write it.
> 
> This will be a story filled with a healthy amount of thump, feels and tension (unless I really suck way more at writing than I'd hoped.) 
> 
> Feel free to tell me if it sucks, and I'm serious. I need to know if it does and why it does.
> 
> But on the other hand, if it doesn't, tell me why you liked it. 
> 
> And of course, enjoy yourself. ;)

"Hal?" The voice sounded far away, like whoever owned it was on the other side of a large room.

Yet he could see Barry's face in front of him, big as life and touched with worry. Hal wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't sure how to say it. All he knew was that everything seemed like it was distant, and he felt detached.

It was almost as though he weren't really there, though some distant part of him knew that he was.

"What is it?" There was a voice he recognized.

Spooky.

Hal wondered who that was, and whether or not it had any significance. Faintly, he felt something give way, and his view went haywire as he fell.

He thought he fell forever, and it was a while before he realized that he'd been caught, the remote feeling of the hard ground underneath him letting him know that he was looking at the sky.

Only it wasn't the sky, it was Spooky and Barry.

"Can you hear me, Hal?" Barry's voice was worried, and distantly, Hal sympathized with him.

Deep inside of him, he felt that worry too, but it was easy to forget the pit in his stomach when he just, ... left. It was like he was gone. He wasn't even there. He knew that it wasn't true, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

Something pressed into his neck, and a part of him supplied the words 'fingers' and 'pulse'. He knew that was important, but didn't really care why.

He just didn't care at all.

He couldn't really see anymore. Everything was blurry, and it felt like a TV channel that had a bad signal, because he couldn't understand the garbled sounds around him. Hal could only tell that they were words, and thought that perhaps he should try to understand them, yet he didn't want to.

He didn't want to try, though, so he didn't.

Hal didn't try anything.

That's when his surroundings became even darker. In the background, he heard panic, and distant words that lifted above the rest, "We- ... pois- ... stopped breathing! ... CPR ..."

Hal thought he ought to care, but he couldn't.

He felt good. The darkness was happy to see him, and he wanted to stay with it, but wasn't able to when he felt air force its way into him. Light flared around him, and he could feel himself suddenly, as though he were there again.

When had he left?

Something was pressing on him, but he couldn't tell what it was. More air came, and he felt himself shudder.

Hal heard more panic, and finally a faint voice so quiet he wasn't sure if it was real, "Please don't die. You're my best friend."

Something was wrong. Who was that?

_Barry_ , his brain supplied.

Oh yeah. He knew. He knew with a suddenness that made him jerk when more air came.

Hal could tell he was moving, and now he heard another voice, "He's strong, he'll make it."

Was that ... Ollie? Should he care?

"Only if he has the will." That was Spooky. He knew that. And suddenly, he did care, but all at once, he realized that he couldn't.

Hal couldn't move, and he couldn't really see.

He couldn't breathe, and when he felt something force its way down his throat, he knew it wasn't air.

It hurt. It burned.

He could feel, but he couldn't do anything about it. The voices were clearer, becoming understandable as he struggled to do anything.

"Of _course_ he has the will." Ollie's voice sharpened, driving into him with a tense, furious tone.

The _will_.

"Ba-r-" He choked out, and immediately, the sounds around him fell silent. Something was still forcing air in, and he now recognized it as a tube, obstructing his speech even as it helped him breathe.

"Hal? Buddy, can you hear me?!" Barry's face made itself clear to him and he began to try to move, panicking when he realized that something wasn't letting him.

"B-Barry-" Hal slurred as he tried to speak again, pushing against whatever was holding him down, only to recieve a small slap from his other side.

"Stop trying to move, you're going to die if you don't get the antidote, and activity will only make the poison move faster."

"Sp-Spooks," It was the first word that he'd managed to get out, and a small smile left him with it. Of _course_ Spooky was there.

"Hal, you got poisoned; do you remember?" Ollie's familiar tone was back and his face followed it this time, his eyes green and sharp, while his voice had softened. He seemed to be doing something, but Hal couldn't move his head enough to see what it was.

"I- _huuuurt_." Hal drew it out longer that he knew was necessary, and in response, his friend grimaced.

"We know. You came into the monitor womb while we were on duty, bleeding everywhere-" Oliver was cut off as Barry shoved his way in.

"You'll be all right, Hal. Don't worry about anything, you'll be fine, okay?"

"Poiso-onnnh ..." Hal grunted, "Wh- Wha' hap'nd?" He was struggling to form words, but still managed to ask the question.

"We don't know." There was Bruce's hard voice, "But J'onnz is on his way, and that should help."

"Y-yer tellin' th' whole L-league?" Hal felt panicked again. He'd been caught out, and he didn't even remember what had happened.

"They just want to make sure you're okay too." Barry soothed.

"Date- wit-with Carol." Hal said it seemingly apropos to nothing, but he was worried. He didn't want Carol to know.

"Don't worry about Carol." Ollie smiled, but his eyes weren't twinkling, and Hal pointed it out,

"Y-you'-re worri'd."

"You almost _died_." Ollie blanched again, and Hal finally tilted his head enough to see that Arrow was wrapping his chest, "How can I _not_ worry?"

"Do you remember anything?" Batman asked, leaning in and looking at his eyes. His mask was off, revealing a slightly red face and disheveled hair.

"N-no." Hal was having trouble speaking still, and it confused him until he remembered that it was because of the breathing apparatus that he was attached to. He looked down at it with an effort, his face obviously displaying his confusion, because Barry spoke in a placating tone,

"You stopped breathing for a while there. We were really worried."

"I c'n b-breathe 'n m' own n-ow." Hal tried to move his arm to pull at the breathing apparatus, but found that he still struggled to move.

"I gave you something to slow down the poison." Bruce explained even as he continued to monitor several screens at once, "We can't take the chance that it won't spread."

"W-why'd I-" Hal cut off, forced to take a deep breath before continuing, "s-sto-p-"

"Stop breathing?" Barry finished helpfully. Hal managed a shaky nod.

"We don't know for sure-" Oliver began, but was cut short by Batman's barbed voice.

"You stopped trying."

"O-oh." Hal definitely didn't miss the looks that they gave each other. He half remembered giving up, and wondered why he'd done it.

"I came as quickly as I could." J'onn melted into view, causing Hal to flinch a little.

He hurt all over, and as his friends cleared a path for J'onn to get through, he could see the bloody mess that they had been taking care of. Ollie _had_ said he'd been bleeding all over...

"Good. Can you see what happened?" Bruce wasted no words.

"Indeed I could." J'onn's forehead furrowed in the Martian's expression of worry, "I fear, however, that entering his mind now would be damaging. He is too weak and disoriented."

If Hal hadn't agreed, he'd have protested. As it was, however, he said nothing.

That seemed to worry his friends, but Batman just nodded in acceptance of J'onn's explanation, "Then we'll wait. Flash, go get the antidote, it should be finished by now."

"Got it." Barry was back almost immediately, and it made Hal smile.

Batman took it and walked out of Hal's line of sight. The speedster followed him while J'onn landed next to the bed, sharing a look with Ollie.

Hal noticed it, but the ramifications of it hit him a little more slowly. "'re y-ou guys tal-talkin' w'thou-t me?" In retrospect, the question sounded ridiculous, but it had only just occurred to him, and they still understood. Ollie immediately jumped to reassure him,

"Hal, J'onn just said that you were too weak for telepathy."

"Th'n t-ta-lk out _l-loud_." Hal tried to speak forcefully, but only ended up coughing; which was agony with that tube. Ollie looked uncomfortable, but never got the chance to reply.

"It works!" Barry's voice interrupted, as he came back with Bruce, who quickly prepped a needle. Hal didn't like how serious everyone was being. It scared him.

"This should counteract the poison, but that doesn't mean you're healed." Batman gave his famous glare.

"'m n-not _du-mb_." Hal grumbled as Bruce injected it, immediately feeling better for the banter.

All of them watched him expectantly, and at first he felt nothing. Then, he realized that he was falling asleep. He managed a glare at Bruce, who didn't even have the grace to shrug, "You need to sleep it off. It will help your system reboot."

"You'll be fine, Hal." Barry said, and Ollie laughed at his expression.

"I _ha-te_ y-you, Sp-pooks." Hal choked out half-heartedly. The last thing he saw before he finally fell asleep were the worried faces of all his friends, and he couldn't help but smile just a little. It was nice to be cared about.

It was nice to _care_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you all enjoyed that as much as I did. :) I recently fixed it up, so if you see anything out of place, PLEASE let me know so I can take care of it.
> 
> If you have any comments, I would love to hear them. They always make my day.
> 
> Till next time,
> 
> -Al


	2. Spreading

Barry held his breath and his smile until Hal was officially asleep, then he let it all out in a worried sigh.

Bruce just ran a hand through his messy hair, pushing it back out of his face where a few strands had fallen. He looked tired, and the redness in his skin from the exertion of running around, trying to keep Hal from _dying_ was finally fading back to its normal, pale olive color.

Barry was sure that he looked just about the same, as his glance to the left showed that Ollie wasn't much better off. J'onn seemed to be the only one unaffected, but he hadn't been in the Monitor Womb when Hal had come in, pale and shaking.

~JL~Flashback~JL~

_"Heh, you kiddin'?" Ollie laughed, "If I had to choose–and just so we're clear, I don't believe it would ever happen–but_ if _it did, and I had to choose between them, I think I'd go with …" Arrow puffed his cheeks out in thought before sighing. "Bats. I guess I'd choose Bats."_

_"'Cause he's always right?" Barry grinned and Ollie glanced at him in surprise,_

_"You'd choose Bruce too?" At Barry's nod, he shook his head, "And here I had you pegged as more of a Superman kinda guy."_

_"Well, Clark's heart is always in the right place, I gotta give him that …" Barry agreed, "But if he were in charge of_ everything _? Ollie, we're talking about the guy that forgot to take his glasses off before the last meeting!"_

_"True, but in his defense, he was really tired."_

_"You'd think Superman could take power naps, am I right?" The Flash and Green Arrow both busted up laughing, only to startle a moment later at a low baritone,_

_"Are you done deciding whom you'd go with if Superman and I 'broke up'?"_

_"Oh JEEZ!" Flash almost fell out of his seat in surprise while Arrow leapt and whirled to face Batman, an arrow knocked and ready to fire,_

_"Don't make us change our minds!"_

_"I wouldn't dream of it." Bruce replied evenly, "The only thing I'm going to make you do is Monitor Duty."_

_"We_ are _doing Monitor Duty!" Ollie spread his arms indignantly, putting away his bow and arrow._

_"And that's why you were chatting amiably about whether or not Superman or I would make a better leader if our team split in half?"_

_"Did you even watch 'Civil War'?" Barry suddenly wanted to know._

_"I don't watch movies, Flash."_

_"You_ don't _?" Ollie seemed to consider Batman's response for a moment, then pulled out his cell phone dramatically, "Time to see if Alfred and Dick agree with that."_

_"No texting."_

_"So you_ do _watch movies." Arrow grinned, "And here I was, thinkin' you slept upside down and everything …"_

_"And here I was, thinking you didn't want Monitor duty for the next week." Bruce was unrelenting, and Barry had to stifle a giggle as Green Arrow gave up the fight, sitting down with a huff,_

_"And you were right."_

_"And that's why we'd be on_ his _team." Barry grinned at his joke, yet neither of his companions laughed, both of them frozen. Ollie's head was cocked, his tell that he'd heard something, "What is it?" Barry whispered, only to have Arrow put a finger to his lips before crouching silently into a battle-ready position._

_Barry got a little nervous when his friend pulled out an arrow and knocked it._

_Barry got scared when he saw Bruce tense up, his cape shifting in the way that meant he had weapons ready underneath it._

_Barry became the Flash when he finally heard the sound as well; every horror movie he'd ever seen coming to his mind as he identified it as a creepy shuffle. 'Like a zombie' he couldn't help but compare. Then he heard the next sound, a grating, labored breathing that made him tense up, ready to run (which direction, he still wasn't sure)._

_The next few moments were unnerving enough that Barry was wishing that the Watchtower had brighter lighting. It was only in the Med-bay though. 'One day', he promised himself, 'I'll change that. I'll make everything so bright that nothing can sneak on ever again!'_

_He knew it was only his nerves causing him to think that way, but he felt justified as he heard the shuffling getting closer, and the breathing hitch a couple of times._

_How_ had _this thing got on the Watchtower? An alarm would have been set off if it hadn't been a friendly. Barry had helped with the system himself (of course, Victor did most of the work, but he was Cyborg for cryin' out loud! Of course he'd rigged most of it up!) so he knew that the Watchtower would normally tell them of intruders … or of arrivals …_

_Barry snuck a glance back to the Monitor screen and saw that it had the info. Someone had punched in a high security access code to enter. Only one of the founding league members could have done it … at least, that's how it was supposed to work._

_Bruce had probably already come to the same conclusion, but he was still holding his position, so Barry figured that it was_ very _possible that their lives could be in danger. Not to mention that if something took over the Watchtower, the whole_ world _would be at stake._

_After another nerve-wracking moment, the door finally swished open, revealing the intruder to be-_

_"Hal?"_

_Barry was in front of his friend in a moment, and it didn't take him long to realize that something was_ very _wrong with the normally lively Green Lantern. His mask wasn't on and he was holding his chest in pain._

_It took Barry a moment to figure out that he was trying to staunch a wound. Blood was dripping down his uniform and the Flash, for once, was at a loss for words._

_Hal didn't help either, not answering him at all._

_"What is it?" Batman stalked up from behind, and that's when Hal crumpled to the ground. Barry caught him reflexively, laying his head in his lap. Flash could feel Batman behind him with his question still hanging in the air, but Barry ignored the Dark Knight, focused only on his best friend,_

_"Can you hear me, Hal?" The normally laughing brown eyes were glazed over and the man didn't answer. Bruce, as usual, assessed the situation quickly, kneeling to place his fingers on the Lantern's neck._

_"His pulse is dangerously slow. We need to get him to medical,_ now _."_

_"He's bleeding everywhere!" Barry wasn't sure when Ollie had come up behind him, but at this point, that didn't matter, "Moving him could kill him!"_

_"Not moving him_ will _kill him." Bruce's tone was biting, but there was an undercurrent of worry and fear that Barry didn't miss, and going off of Ollie's expression as he leaned down to help move Hal, he hadn't missed it either._

_"I could get him there fast-" Barry began to offer, but was cut off by a glare from Bruce, reminding him that his speed would probably kill the already weak Green Lantern._

_"Do you_ want _him to die?"_

_That had hurt._

_They all picked him up as gently as possible, moving as quickly down the hall as they dared. They could see his bloody footprints, meaning he'd been too tired to even_ fly _. That was a bad sign (not that the blood was a much better one)._

_"He shouldn't be this bad," Ollie was assessing the wound as they ran, "It's bad, don't get me wrong, he could bleed to death soon if we don't hurry, but … he shouldn't-"_

_"Poison." Bruce interjected._

_"You think he's been_ poisoned _?!" Barry was getting more and more scared for his friend as they hurried along._

_"I guess with the symptoms it would make sense." Ollie spoke with a forced calm and Bruce reiterated with a voice of granite,_

_"It's the only answer. I've seen a lot of different poisons, but I've never seen_ this _kind before."_

_Even as Ollie and Bruce began to try and identify the poison, Barry noticed something that made him stop short, forcing them to stop with him, "Barry?" He didn't answer, he had to make sure before he officially panicked._

_"Flash, we don't have time-"_

_"We_ do _have time!" Barry panicked, "Whatever that poison is, Hal's not breathing!"_

_Batman and Arrow immediately lowered the Lantern to the ground, "He needs CPR." Bruce pulled back his cowl, but Ollie stopped him,_

_"No! With that wound in his chest, he'll die!"_

_"Arrow, he'll likely die either way!" Batman hardly ever raised his voice, and Barry quickly decided that he never wanted him to do it again, "This way just happens to give us the highest chance of him surviving this!"_

_"I'm sorry, …" Ollie pulled back, his expression spelling doom, "Go ahead."_

JL~Flashback~JL~

Barry shuddered as he remembered the blood getting _everywhere_. They still needed to clean the hall … He looked at his teammates; all of their masks were off now, not just Bruce's.

Bruce and Ollie had also removed their gloves, which were covered in blood. Barry didn't have gloves. He just had a bloodstained suit.

" **You all need rest.** " J'onn spoke telepathically as well as out loud, " **This has been a trying experience for all involved, but I will watch over him now. You should go home and sleep.** "

"I'll stay." Bruce replied.

"Yeah, thanks J'onn, but I think-" Oliver began, only to be cut off by a bat-glare that was somehow just as effective with the mask off.

"Go home, Arrow. You too, Flash."

"You think you can stay while I have to-" Arrow started just as Barry protested,

"That's my best friend-"

They both stopped when Bruce held up a bare, blood-covered hand with a rare sigh, "We'll take turns, and I need to be sure that the antidote worked."

"Well … then I'm next." Barry huffed as he left the room swiftly, trying not to think about how close he'd come to losing his best friend in there. He wasn't even aware Ollie had followed him out until he spoke (man he and Bats could be quiet).

"And that's why we'd follow _him_."

He gave a slight grin as he continued walking, the joke restoring a little normalcy that soon dissipated as they walked past the spot where Bruce had done CPR.

Blood was everywhere, turning slowly brown in the stale air. "I swear when I find out who did this, they're gonna regret being born."

"Ha, same here." Ollie tried to make it sound like a joke, but it fell flat. They were both serious and they knew it.

They continued along in silence, each of them lost in thought. Barry, for his part, was trying to remember the last time he'd seen Hal _before_ the incident. They'd gone and eaten at a restaurant, if he remembered correctly … nothing about the situation had foreshadowed _this._

That was one thing that had always bothered Barry. In books, you could usually tell who the bad guy was. You could guess what would happen next. In life ...

Hal could have _died_.

It was a sobering thought; one that Barry had to shove from his mind to properly ignore the twisting stomach that came with it. From his silence, the Flash guessed that Ollie was having similar feelings.

They were both actively ignoring the smell of blood that seemed to have tainted the atmosphere. Hal hadn't wanted the whole League to know, but as soon as anyone entered the Watchtower and took a sniff, they'd know.

Flash and Arrow got to the teleporter room with no more talking, a rare thing between the two of them. Once there, Barry mechanically input the coordinates for Central City, then got ready to boom out and found himself facing Ollie. There was a moment of awkwardness as he tried to decide what to say.

Nothing fit the situation.

Nothing could properly convey how he was feeling. Barry almost felt that he should hug Arrow. Who knew? Maybe Ollie was next, and this would be the last time he spoke to him normally.

From the look on Ollie's face, he was having a similar dilemma. So Barry finally decided on, "See ya." Before booming out.

He ended up in Central City Park. It was 2:33 am and he was grimacing over his choice of words. He should have gone with the hug.

He should have hugged Hal.

Being reminded of how frail mortality could truly be … it had scared the Flash. He pushed thoughts of death out of head. He had the speed force, and Arrow wasn't a pushover. They'd be fine.

Right?

Barry jogged home, in no real hurry to get there, since he would have to go to sleep. He was sure he'd just have nightmares about what had happened, and that was only if he managed to _get_ to sleep.

There were a few cars on the streets, but they tapered down to nothing by the time he'd finally arrived at home.

The Flash changed before he went in, not wanting to track Hal's blood all over his house. He put the suit in the washer, removing the ear-pieces first so that it didn't get torn up. Then he went into the kitchen and made himself a cup of hot chocolate before sitting down at the table.

He wasn't ready to face sleep yet, or whatever his mind would conjure up to deal with the day, so he just … sipped his comfort drink and thought.

Where had Hal been when he'd been attacked? Was it something in Coast City, or was it a space creature? Barry closed his eyes in thought. Whatever it was, Hal had been close to the Watchtower … that made it a space creature. Right?

Ugh, if it _was_ an extraterrestrial he'd have a very hard time finding it to exact revenge!

Now normally, Barry wasn't a revenge kinda guy, but whatever this was, it had almost killed Hal, right after poisoning him with something that made him _give up_ the will to _live_. For heaven's sake, that was something that was hard to take from anyone, but Hal Jordan?

Hal Jordan, _Green Lantern_?!

Barry slammed his cup down on the table, feeling the need to do something in his anger. He quickly realized that it had been a stupid move however, and had to move to the sink to wash his hands as a result, grabbing a rag to clean the residual mess.

He didn't use his speed, merely cleaning it up as Barry Allen. He didn't want to be the Flash at that moment, since no matter who he was; he couldn't help his own best friend. He sighed as he finished cleaning it up, rinsing out the cloth and then leaning against the wall with another colossal sigh.

He felt so _useless_!

Sure, he'd been able to help Bruce come up with an antidote, helping him test it on a sample of the poison that they'd drawn from Hal's bloodstream … but after that he'd been sent home. It wasn't as though he'd been able to do much of anything while Ollie expertly stitched and wrapped Hal's torn chest...

If Hal hadn't been wearing his suit, he'd have been dead. His ring had kept him alive, whether he'd lost the will or not. Barry made a mental note to thank the ring next time he saw it (It was silly, but he knew it talked to Hal, and he felt that he owed it thanks for keeping his friend alive).

Barry closed his eyes and laughed softly to himself as he pictured doing it, "You're losing it, Allen. You know you're losing it when you're daydreaming about talking to magic green rings …" His laugh tapered away and he opened his eyes again at a small scraping sound.

It sounded like it had come from his window, but Barry dismissed the thought, murmuring quietly, "My mind's playin' tricks on me …" He walked slowly to the window regardless, looking out hesitantly. He let out a breath of relief when nothing was there. 'I'm just tired,' He thought.

The Flash was sure that if he went to sleep, he'd wake up in a sweat in the middle of the night, but if staying up was going to have him looking suspiciously out the window every few seconds … well, neither option was all that appealing.

But he was tired.

Sleep sounded good enough that he didn't care if he had nightmares or not. Barry started to go up his stairs and ended up freezing when that same scrape came from his door.

"Please, not again …" He muttered. He slowly neared the door, readying himself to see another half-dead friend behind it. What if it was Ollie? What if it was _Wally_? He shuddered without meaning to.

Maybe it would be whatever did this to Hal …?

That thought spurred him on and he tore the door open quickly in a flash of bravery, surprised to find that it was-

Nothing.

"You're losing it, Allen …" He scowled as he slowly inched out the door onto his porch, looking carefully around as he listened for the noise. There was nothing there. In a way, that just made the whole situation more intense. That meant that he couldn't see whatever had made the sound, or his mind had made up the sound. Both of those were slightly terrifying thoughts.

He took one last look around before turning to head back into his house. That's when he heard the noise once more, twice as loud this time, and he whirled to see the cause.

Again, there was nothing there, but going off of the neighbor's madly barking dog … maybe his imagination wasn't playing tricks on him.

The entire situation was becoming a little terrifying.

It didn't help that he'd almost seen a friend die in one of the safest, most secure places that he knew of. It made the whole 'home is safe' feeling go away, leaving him feeling very violated and defenseless on his own driveway.

His eyes were straining in the darkness, attempting to see something that he was soon getting the feeling was invisible. The dog was still barking distantly, so finally he felt his already frayed patience wane, "Who's there?"

Nothing answered.

Of course nothing answered, but behind him Barry heard that scraping sound again. It was really starting to grate on his nerves. He turned around quickly, using the speed force just a little bit this time.

The Speedster was very disturbed when nothing was there. Not even a mark on the pavement.

So he went into the speed force. Everything around him slowed down as he immersed himself in it, waiting patiently for the right moment. He knew it was risky to do it right in front of his house as Barry Allen, but at this point, he was wiling to do almost anything to put a stop to the nightmarish sound.

There it was. The scraping was back, and he was on it in a second, leaving the speed force behind. It was-

A _hand_?!

"What the-?!" Barry reached out and grabbed the pale wrist of a hand that seemed to originate from nowhere, floating long enough to scrape the ground with long pointed gray nails. The hand immediately turned to him, the nails digging in deep enough to draw blood. He yelped, but didn't let go, even as the nails began to scrape his arm, leaving rivets of blood in their sharp wake.

The Flash began to shift his arm hoping to keep a good grip on the other hand, only to have another one appear out of nowhere with a black knife, stabbing it into his wrist. He let go with a shout of pain and watched as the hands disappeared, leaving him on the ground with a knife through his wrist.

It only took Barry a moment to decide what to do, and he got up and ran, not caring that he wasn't in his suit as he reached the nearest place where he could Boom. There was no way he would be able to sleep in his own house that night.

Besides, Bruce should know about what had happened.

The Flash arrived at the dimly lit Watchtower with a sigh of relief, and swiftly made his way to the Med-bay. He pulled the knife out as he went, trying to prevent dripping as well as he could. The floor was bloody enough without _him_ adding to it. Yet even as he removed the sharp knife, he had to stare at the handle in shock. It had something written on it in jagged, carved letters;

**THE THINGS WE ALL DEPEND ON,**

**THE THINGS WE KNOW ABOUT,**

**JUST HOW MUCH DO WE NEED THEM,**

**AND CAN WE GO WITHOUT?**

Barry felt slightly faint as he read the hacked out rhyme. He looked carefully at the whole knife, just in case there were more messages, and then felt sick as he realized that it wasn't just dripping with his blood.

It was dripping with the poison that they'd found in Hal's blood earlier.

Barry was poisoned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you go.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it, and sorry for the cliffhanger. *evil grin* Please let me know what you think, even if it's just one line, I swear I'll answer, and I'll appreciate it even more.
> 
> Till next time, C Y'all later.
> 
> -Al


	3. Faster

Bruce resisted the urge to sigh again as the door swished closed behind Arrow and Flash. He could feel a tiredness settling into his bones as he gazed back at Hal.

The Lantern looked unnaturally pale, and nothing was right about being on a ventilator.

Especially when it was Hal.

The fiercely independent Lantern liked to do things of his own free will, and seeing him reduced to not being able to even _breathe_ by himself was not only immensely uncomfortable, it was just _wrong_.

J'onn floated up next to him as he continued to watch Jordan's wrapped chest rise and fall, " **I am perfectly capable of watching over him. You should rest.** "

"No." Bruce eyed the Martian, watching as his brow wrinkled, but cut J'onn off before he could reply, "I don't know how well the antidote worked, and I need to do some more study on the poison itself. _You_ need to go warn the rest of the League. Tell them all to come here in the morning–Flash and Arrow will no doubt show up on their own–but the rest need to be warned. Whoever or _whatever_ did this to Jordan knew what they were doing, and I have a feeling that this is only the beginning."

J'onn regarded Bruce unblinkingly, then nodded, " **I will warn them, Batman. Then I will return. You would do well to get some rest before tomorrow. Hal Jordan is safe.** "

"We don't know that for sure." Bruce turned his eyes back to the Lantern, "We still don't even know what happened."

" **Worrying will do nothing now.** " J'onn's voice resonated in Bruce's mind, its never-ending calm washing over the Dark Knight, " **We will find the cause of this, and we will put a stop to it.** "

"I know we will." Bruce pulled his cowl back over his face as his eyes met the Martian's once more, "Starting now." He walked back to the small lab that he'd set up on the counter of the med-bay. It was where he and a flustered Flash had mixed an antidote not 10 minutes earlier.

J'onn remained silent for a moment, then spoke softly, " **I will warn the others.** "

Bruce could feel his telepathic presence for a few seconds after the Martian left the room, then he was gone. Bruce would always forget how calming J'onn's presence could be until he left, yet Batman refused to feel bad about it. He knew what was logical in this situation. No one on the team knew that they were in danger yet, and the fact that he still hadn't identified the poison solidified his decision.

He had to stay here and keep an eye on Lantern. J'onn could warn the whole team more quickly, and he could also convey the urgency more clearly. Bruce had no doubt that the team would show up before morning, but at least Arrow and Flash would get some sleep.

… If they followed his orders, which was doubtful.

Batman's mind had been whirring since Jordan had first stumbled in, trying to lock onto who might have done it. The attack seemed like it had come from something with the mind and self-control of an animal, but the poison bespoke a genius. Bruce was leaning towards the latter. Hal had been attacked, and couldn't remember what had happened, and then lost the will to live.

It could be a coincidence that the Green Lantern had been near the Watchtower when it happened. It could have been a coincidence that the poison just happened to kill his will.

But no.

Batman didn't believe in coincidences.

Whoever had attacked was either an old enemy with a new weapon, or a new enemy entirely. It was probably a new enemy, and the Dark Knight had a haunch that the attack on Lantern was only the beginning.

Bruce stifled another sigh as he looked through the microscope. The small petri dish he was observing contained the poison with the antidote that Flash had helped him whip up. The antidote was a thick, pooling grey-orange liquid, while the poison resembled ink. Hal's tainted blood was also on the dish, but the poison had taken it over, turning it all sickly yellow.

They'd known that the antidote would work when they applied it and it quickly turned the pale yellow blood that they'd taken from Lantern a dull pink. The cells had looked like cells again, rather than yellow sludge, which was disturbing to see in place of blood.

Barry had been relieved, but Bruce had been skeptical. Blood wasn't pink. But pink was closer than yellow, so he'd taken a chance and injected it. So far, it appeared to be working, but it still wasn't red, and that didn't settle right with the Dark Knight.

Bruce finally turned away from the microscope, towards the beaker that had the antidote in it. Just in case, he began to mix another batch of the stuff. Who knew when the perp would strike again? That was why he'd sent J'onn out in the first place. That was why he'd stayed in the Watchtower. He was well equipped to deal with any intruders if-

His thoughts were cut off by a beep from Hal's end of the room. Bruce's gaze snapped to the monitors above the Lantern, and his eyes widened behind his mask.

Hal had stopped breathing again. Jordan was in no danger of dying, but the ventilator was the only reason that he was still alive.

Bruce struggled to remain calm and collected as he rushed over with a syringe, taking another sample of the Lantern's blood. His earlier suspicions were confirmed when it filled the syringe, syrupy yellow, no sign of the pink that the antidote caused.

He ended up grabbing the rather large dosage of antidote that he'd just made, and injected half of it right then. Bruce waited for a moment with bated breath, then Hal took a shuddering, full breath on his own.

Batman's arms fell to his sides, his cape enveloping them as he finally let out a large sigh.

The antidote was only a temporary one.

But what was wrong with it? Allen knew his chemicals, and Bruce was no fool. They'd made it to counteract the poison _exactly_. Between Scarecrow's fear gas and Joker's laughing concoction, Batman was good at making antidotes. So what was different this time?

Bruce moved back to the science table slowly, then set the new sample of Hal's infected blood on the top of it, next to the half empty beaker of antidote. His mind was working over the details, looking for the reason why the antidote hadn't worked.

He leaned over to look at the petri dish again, and frowned when he saw that it was all a pale yellow once more.

Magic _could_ be the reason why, but this didn't stink of magic to the Dark Knight, who felt all the signs of a technologically advanced being. A very cunning, crafty, technologically advanced being.

Batman quickly mixed more of the temporary antidote as he considered his problem. He could see the petri dish out of the corner of his eye, with the poison on it shining in the white lights of the med-bay.

He grabbed the syringe with the infected blood that he'd just taken from Hal. Then he began to test it.

He made small changes to the antidote for over an hour, testing them thoroughly and methodically. There _had_ to be a cure!

Yet every test he ran showed that the original antidote did the best job.

By the time he'd done everything he could think of, he'd already had to give Hal another dose and his mask was off. He watched Lantern breath on his own once again, and found himself wondering if perhaps there really wasn't any cure. He only let that thought stay in his head for a moment before pushing it back into the 'least likely' zone of his conclusions.

Slowly, Bruce began to pace.

He'd tried everything. Literally every logical test that was possible to run, he had attempted.

He'd even done the illogical ones.

The Justice League was made up of the strongest people on the planet, and they weren't about to lose a member to some poison. Not if Batman had anything to do with it.

He began to go back over his options, twice as slowly as he had been doing before. The only plausible cause that he could come up with was Magic. That still didn't resonate with him as a cause, but now he was thinking it through all over again.

And again, and again and again.

It really wasn't his first choice, but at this point, what else could it be?

"Batman!" The door slid open and Bruce whipped around to face the Flash, pulling his cowl back up over his face. He could feel his anger spiking suddenly. Couldn't the man just _sleep_?! However, his words died in his throat when he saw Barry.

"Allen?" Bruce stared at the disheveled speedster, who's forearms were covered with blood.

Along with the remnants of poison.

"You were attacked? Where? How long ago? Can you feel it affecting you yet?"

"I was at home, and I heard a noise outside so I went to look but I couldn't see what was making it and I thought I was going crazy but I went into the speed force and there was a- a _hand,_ It came out of _nowhere_ and I grabbed it and it stabbed me and I'm sorry I already ruined the fingerprints on it but look at what the knife says!" Barry had come forward quickly, his wrist bleeding profusely, and held out a small knife that Batman instantly took.

It was dripping with the black poison and Barry's red blood, but the two substances were mixing at an alarming rate, as though the poison was seeking the blood.

"What did the hand look like?" Bruce looked carefully over the knife, annoyed at the inscription (since it stank like the Riddler, but without the personal touch), but sincerely disturbed when his lenses could discover no fingerprints, smudged or otherwise, other than Barry's.

"It was grey and ugly with super creepy long sharp nails." Flash was speaking fast, meaning that he was nervous, and Bruce turned to see him injecting himself with the antidote. Then he sped to one of the cupboards, and a moment later his right forearm was wrapped up and he was standing next to Hal.

Bruce just watched silently as the Flash calmed himself down, then with a big sigh, apologized, "… I messed up. I'm sorry." He spoke quietly, turning to Bruce with wide blue eyes, "Uhh, … how has Hal been?" Allen glanced around the room and added belatedly, "And what happened to J'onn?"

"I sent J'onn to warn the League. They'll all be here in the morning."

"Oh." Barry shifted from foot to foot, then looked back at Lantern, "And … has Hal been okay?"

"No." Batman walked carefully up to the original petri dish, which he had left the same. Flash caught the hint, and walked up to it, inspecting it carefully. It was shining that sickly amber color. Then he breathed softly,

"So it _is_ only temporary. I was worried that it might be."

Bruce blinked as he nodded. It was easy to forget how smart Allen could be. "Hal stopped breathing again. Twice."

"Wow." Barry's voice was a distorted mixture of false cheer and worry, "That's, uh … we should make more of the antidote, huh?"

Batman nodded.

That was all that was needed, and they both got to work.

There was an unspoken agreement that Barry didn't need to be hooked up like Hal was. He hadn't been torn apart. He'd just been stabbed through the wrist, and the speed force was healing it even as they worked.

The speedster kept checking on Hal, making certain that he was all right. It gave Bruce hope to see how much Allen truly cared.

With the speed force it went much faster, and by the end of the hour, they'd made enough to last for a whole two weeks (give or take). When they were done, Bruce quietly began setting up an I.V. system for Jordan, to make certain that temporary though the antidote was; the Lantern would be able to breathe on his own when he woke up.

They didn't talk while they worked, and Batman felt as though he was intruding when Barry very gently taped up Hal's arm and hung the I.V. Then the Flash sat down on the next bed over, ready for his own.

The Dark Knight began prepping for it, and with all of the unspoken work that they'd just done, Bruce was surprised when Barry spoke suddenly and sourly, "I'll bet this isn't even enough. We're gonna run out, and we're all gonna be infected by the end of the week. Wouldn't that be typical?"

Bruce was silent, uncertain how to respond to the uncharacteristically grim outlook from the speedster. He looked at the clock. It had been over an hour since Barry had taken the antidote.

So it was past worn off by now. Bruce mentally kicked himself for not paying better attention, but was intrigued simultaneously.

"What are you waiting for?" Barry looked up at him in slight annoyance, "Do you want me to stop breathing?"

"If you were going to stop breathing, you would already be dead by now." Bruce replied, his eyes still on the clock as his mind absorbed this new information. Why wasn't the Flash dying? Why wasn't he keeled over, like Hal had been?

"What do you mean?" The speedster followed his gaze to the clock. Then his eyes widened, and he repeated the question resonating in Batman's skull, "Whoa. Why am I not dead?"

Bruce was still thinking, but even if he had been inclined to say something, he never would have gotten his chance, since the Flash continued, his tone turning hopeless again,

"Whaddaya wanna bet that it just takes longer to affect me? I mean, Hal is way worse off. They really musta had to do a number on him to kill his willpower. How can we beat people who can take Hal's _will_?"

Bruce frowned at the theory, negative assumptions aside. Flash could be right. Yet even as he hooked Allen up, something tickled the back of his mind that disagreed.

He just wished that he knew what it was.

Before the antidote could work it's magic, he took a sample of Allen's blood. His eyes widened to see the nasty dead blue color that came out, nothing like Jordan's yellow. It bordered on grey, where Jordan's was almost brown.

"Well that's new." Barry's eyes followed Bruce as he stepped over to the table to begin testing.

A few moments later, it was obvious that the antidote worked just as well on Allen's blood as it did on Jordan's. That was intriguing. Why were they different colors if they reacted the same way? The only difference was the blood itself … the person who was infected … but what could the difference mean …?

"Wow. It sure is lucky that I didn't get attacked like Hal." Barry suddenly said, "And I'm glad that I didn't lose my will."

Bruce continued to stare at the two different colors of blood. In the back of his mind, he noted that Barry sounded very chipper compared with how he had acted earlier, yet he quickly returned his focus to his experiments.

He dripped some of the blue blood on top of the yellow, only to watch it float for a moment, the substances refusing to mix. Then Batman watched with fascination as the drop of blue blood sank through the yellow, disappearing completely.

Barry's was denser? What did that mean?

Coming to a sudden realization, Bruce looked at the experiments lying on the table before him. Every bit of the poison that they had was mixed with blood. None of it was the pure poison that it had begun as, which would have been pure inky black.

No. He was working with sickly yellow and grey-blue … a contaminated substance.

Experimentally, he removed his glove and pulled out a batarang. He cut his thumb with it quickly, dripping his own blood into the blue and yellow in the dish. He watched with fascination as his own blood refused to mix in, just as Allen's had, floating stubbornly on the top.

So that was it.

That explained why the antidote wasn't working all the way!

Bruce straightened up at the revelation, his eyes widening with his back to Allen. The Flash didn't miss it, and immediately asked, "What? What is it?"

"I know why the antidote is only temporary."

"What?" Barry stood up, a grin lighting his face, "That's great! Then we can fix it, right?"

"No. We need a sample of the pure poison. All we have is your and Jordan's blood."

"Oh." Barry frowned, "So … we just need to find the jerk who's doing this, punch him in the face, take the poison and create a real antidote!" He was smiling again by the end of his juvenile plan. Bruce didn't return it.

"It's not that simple. We don't even know where to start looking."

Barry sat back down with a sigh, then stood again excitedly, "Well so far, he's found us, and he's only been targeting League members-"

"Are you suggesting that one of us act as bait, Allen?" Bruce added no emotion to his voice as his eyebrow went up.

"Uh, … well, it would be strictly voluntary-"

"It's a good idea."

"It is?" The Flash tripped to a halt, then picked himself back up, "Of course it is!"

"Yes." Bruce stifled a smile, "But it can't be you or Lantern."

"Right." Barry rolled his eyes then, the smile still on his face, "Not us. But we're gonna catch this creep!"

Batman looked at Flash's smile; the one that never seemed to leave his face for very long. Earlier he had been so suddenly pessimistic, ...

Bruce's thoughts were cut off by a groan that had both he and Allen moving toward's Hal, who's weak voice sounded irritated, and it was still stifled by the ventilator, "If y-ou e'pect me t' f'rget wh't yo-u did, th'n s'cks f'r you. I st'll h'te yo-u, Bats."

"How are you feeling besides that?" Barry's forever smile was still there, "You almost died. You needed to sleep that off a little."

"N-no I d'dn'-t." Hal grunted as he attempted to sit up. Barry pushed the button that propped the bed up automatically while Hal finished, "Sp-ooky w'nted me to."

"We're on our way to working out an antidote." Bruce still refused to feel guilty.

"Yeah. One of us is gonna be bait and then we're gonna catch-"

"Ba-b'rry?" Hal stopped Allen with a cough that had Barry leaning in,

"Hal?" His arm was stretched behind him to still be properly connected with his IV drip, and that's what Hal's eyes were focused on,

"Wh-y do you h've-"

"Oh, this?" Barry took a step back to properly motion to the IV, then he looked embarrassed, "Well, I kinda-"

"Allen's been poisoned too." Bruce deadpanned, his eyes still fixated on Barry's smile.

Hal made a sound of surprise and horror, and Barry launched into the story, attempting to abate the Lantern's attempts at speech. He only made it about halfway through it before Hal put a hand on his good wrist, stopping him.

"What?" The Flash asked, while Bruce merely watched the exchange, trying to catch onto that spark of an idea that had been interrupted earlier. It had something to do with Allen's smiles and the rhyme on the knife

… the things we depend on ...

"W-hy do I h've to bre'the thro-ugh th's 'nd you d'n't?" Hal motioned to his ventilator, and Barry spoke kindly,

"Hal, you're worse off than I am. You stopped breathing, but I didn't. It's because I didn't get torn apart-"

"No." Batman finally broke in, and two pairs of eyes met his, both asking the same question. He didn't answer it right away though, instead moving to the table and picking up the beaker that had both samples in it. Barry's blood was on the bottom, Hal's was in the middle, and Bruce's was on top, "It's not because you're stronger. It's because you're different."

"What?" Barry asked, while Hal merely waited for an explanation.

"That's what the poison does. It says it in the rhyme." Batman pointed at Hal, "It took away Jordan's willpower. What does Jordan depend on? What does his ring run on?"

"But what do you mean when you said-" Barry hesitantly began, and sure enough, Bruce cut him off again.

"You don't depend on your will. That's why you were still breathing. It didn't take your will."

"Then, … what did it take?" Flash was obviously trying to think back, but Batman saved him the effort.

"Your optimism. It took your optimism."

"It-" Allen paused, thinking, "It _did_ , didn't it? I guess I did get a little depressed there for a minute …"

"Wh't ab-out th' rest of th' Le'gue?" Hal choked out.

"J'onn is warning them all. They should all be here by morning." Bruce turned away, "In the meantime, I'm going to look up and see if I can find anything on this kind of poison."

"I'll come with-" Barry started, only to be cut off for the umpteenth time.

"No. Stay with Jordan. Strength in numbers." Bruce headed for the door.

"Y-ou're goin' ta y-our cave ta brood?"

"No." Bruce turned his glare on Jordan, and was annoyed when the half dead Lantern didn't wilt. He'd always simultaneously hated and admired that about the stubborn man, "I'm going to the Monitor Womb, where this all started. If anything happens, Allen can handle it. I doubt you two are much of targets anymore anyway; not now that I know what the poison does."

"Okay." Barry answered before Hal had a chance to, "We'll be fine." He bumped Hal's bed with his knee and Jordan rolled his eyes.

"H've fun wi-th you-r c'mputer."

Bruce just nodded and pulled his cowl back up over his face, his cap swishing as he left the room. He was fairly certain that they would be fine, but he was growing increasing worried for the rest of the League.

He hoped that the next attack wouldn't come until after he'd had the chance to talk to them all ...

Bruce _hated_ hoping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. This was okay. I think.
> 
> I'm sorry if Hal's dialogue was hard to understand, but I'm not changing it.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! If you have any suggestions or comments, please let me know!
> 
> Love y'all.
> 
> -Al


	4. No

Clark woke to a whisper so quiet it seemed to originate from his own ear. He soon realized that it wasn't that at all, since there were no discernible sounds in his room besides the usual honking and driving that floated through his cracked window.

For a moment, he wondered if he'd imagined it, but the thought was chased away as J'onn's voice entered his mind.

**Superman.**

The Martian floated into his bedroom through the door, and Clark pulled himself out of bed, his muscles tense. The visit was too early in the morning to be social, which meant that Superman was needed. "J'onn? What is it? Is something wrong?"

**The League is under attack.** Visions accompanied the statement, explaining it better than words ever could have. Clark got dressed in under a second. Hal was already down, the rest of the League could be next …

"What about-"

" **I have already warned the others. I came to you last.** " Out loud as well as telepathically, J'onn explained. It made sense too. If people were in trouble, Superman wasn't likely to be among them. " **We must go. They are waiting.** "

Clark exited his apartment through the window, closing it behind him before floating up into the sky with J'onn right behind him. "Is everyone else at the Watchtower?"

" **I have collected everyone but The Flash and Green Arrow. They are attempting to sleep after their ordeal.** "

"Makes sense." Clark felt his sympathy flare, wondering what he would do if Bruce staggered in and almost died. He prayed that he'd never have to see his best friend die in front of him, and he could hardly imagine how it must have been for Ollie and Barry to get so close to just that. "I'm assuming that Bruce is still up there?"

" **I could not persuade him to leave.** " J'onn admitted, and Clark smiled tightly at Batman's predictability.

They entered the Watchtower, and Clark found himself scrunching his nose at the overpowering stench of blood that filled the hall. He followed the trail of bloody footprints to the Monitor Womb, suppressing the urge to go make certain that Hal was alive for himself as he walked in.

"J'onn, go get Queen. He could be in danger." Bruce's voice was taught with weariness that had Clark worried almost immediately. He stood at the Monitor screen itself, with Wonder Woman and Aquaman just behind him. "I doubt he's asleep anyway."

The Martian left the room with a nod, leaving Superman with the others. Arthur was holding a knife with a look of curiosity and disgust on his face. "What did I miss?" Clark strode towards them, but no one looked at him. They were focused on the knife and the screen.

"Whoever or whatever got Jordan made another move. Allen's down now too." Bruce's voice was so carefully neutral that Clark's already heightened sense of worry spiked.

"So he's-" Clark could only imagine how Barry must look, compared with the mental image of Hal that J'onn had given him.

"He's _fine_." Diana said it kindly, turning to actually meet his gaze, as she must have recognized Clark's worry. "Batman found a temporary antidote."

"Only temporary?" Clark looked at Arthur now, who was still studying the knife in his hands. Batman was the one who answered him.

"To make a permanent antidote, we need a pure sample of the poison. To get a pure sample, we need whoever's behind this. To get whoever's behind this, we need to set a trap."

"Use one of us as _bait_?" Clark was immediately against the idea. "We already almost lost one member of this team, and he was a _Green Lantern_. I don't think this is such a-"

"The poison doesn't affect everyone the same way." Bruce cut him off sharply. "It takes away what we need the most."

"This is the knife that they got Flash with." Arthur held it out to him and Clark took it hesitantly, reading the small rhyme quickly. He pondered it silently, wondering what it could mean for the League. "Apparently a hand appeared and stabbed him with it." He turned to Batman then, having finished his investigation of the strange object. "It's not Atlantean, or Xebelian."

"Wherever it originated, it took Jordan's willpower. It took Allen's optimism. We have no way of telling what it will take from us, but we also have no way to fix it unless we catch it."

Clark remained silent, still hating the idea. Then he put the knife down on the terminal. "I'll be the bait."

There was silence. All three of them looked as though they wanted to argue, but Batman finally nodded. "Whoever this is, they know our secret identities. None of us will be safe until we find it and stop it.

"Bruce …" Clark regarded his overly serious friend. He didn't need to use his x-ray vision to see the tiredness that lay under the cowl. "We'll get whoever did this. You don't need to worry." Bruce's lip curled a little, a sure sign that his reply was going to be caustic. Luckily, he never had the chance to say it.

"By Hera, we will do more than get him, if I have any say!" Diana hefted her sword from its place by her side, holding it threateningly. Clark mustered up a small smile at her exuberance, and Arthur's eyebrow went up.

"Who said it was a _he_?"

Wonder Woman did not grace him with an answer.

J'onn chose that moment to float serenely back into the room. " **Green Arrow is with The Flash and Green Lantern.** "

"Good. That covers all of us." Bruce's voice hadn't lost its edge, and Arthur brought up the subject that Clark had begun considering.

"What about our other friends; the ones who aren't part of the League? They may be targeted too."

"From what we've seen so far it's doubtful, but they should be warned regardless." Batman had obviously already warned everyone close to himself.

Of course he had.

Clark smiled fully then. They were the Justice League. They'd pull through this. If they could save the world, surely they could save themselves.

Wonder Woman and Aquaman left the room, presumably to warn their friends. Clark made a mental note to call up Lois when it wasn't 4:00 in the morning.

J'onn floated there for another moment before asking a question that hadn't even crossed Clark's mind. " **This may be a ploy to remove the threat of the League and conquer the world when we are gone. Should we alert the other heroes?** "

"I've already alerted the Titans, and a few others. We don't want to panic too many people though, so they're staying where they're at, and we'll be notified if they are targeted."

For what must have been the thousandth time, Clark had to admire the mind of his best friend. Bruce prepared for things that Clark wasn't even aware existed, and it was remarkable.

" **That is good to hear.** "

"Yeah, that _is_ good to hear. The last thing we need is to have this spread."

Batman didn't reply, merely nodding before turning back to the screen.

"No leads?" Clark guessed, seeing that Bruce was especially broody.

"The knife had no fingerprints, and the hands left no trace. Neither Wonder Woman nor Aquaman recognized it. The only option left is J'onn's telepathy and Hal's attack."

" **He is still weak.** " J'onn didn't flinch when Bruce turned to glare. " **But if he consents, then I will do what I can.** "

"Doesn't Hal remember it?" Clark asked as they left the Monitor Womb, Batman snatching the knife on the way out. They passed Diana and Arthur in the hall, both of them fervently talking into phones.

" **He did not appear to when he first awoke, yet it is possible that the memory is suppressed.** " J'onn floated just behind them, and Bruce remained silent.

"Do you think his ring can identify the knife?"

"Maybe." Bruce grunted thoughtfully. They passed a veritable puddle of blood just then, and Clark frowned. Whatever had done this to Lantern hadn't held back.

Or perhaps it had, and if _that_ were true, then they were possibly dealing with a bigger threat than ever before. The thought forced the man of steel to suppress a shudder.

They entered the med-bay to laughter, which wasn't surprising when one spotted Barry with his finger in Ollie's ear. The laughter died as soon as Hal pointed at Batman though, and the three of them quickly rearranged themselves to look as though they had just been chatting like normal people.

"Any news?" Barry coughed, wiping his finger off discreetly. The other three pointedly ignored the strange scene.

"No. Any possible leads are in here." Bruce took the knife from his belt, and Clark followed him as he approached Hal's bed. Soon all of them were gathered around it. "We're here to see if Lantern can help."

Jordan didn't say anything, waiting for Batman to explain, but Ollie spoke. "How can Hal help?"

"Can your ring identify this?" Bruce held out the knife, and Hal struggled to sit up. Barry immediately propped the bed up for him, and Lantern held his ring out to the weapon.

"Ident'fy."

Green light extended from the ring, and sweat beaded on Hal's face as it carefully scanned the knife. Then it stopped and a voice spoke clearly from the ring.

~ _Scan complete. Anomaly detected. Origin: Unknown. Make and type of weapon match ancient Isbinarn carvings._ ~

"Isbinarn?" Batman looked at Lantern, whose face was shining with the exertion.

"Hal needs to rest-" Barry spoke softly from the side, only to be cut off by Jordan's choked voice.

"R'ng. G've me evr'yth'ng y-ou've go' on Isbin'rn."

~ _Data retrieved. The Isbinar were an ancient civilization that thrived on their small planet in sector 3186 for centuries.~_

The ring showed them a flickering hologram of a tall, bone thin, austere looking alien whose white skin was slightly translucent, showing black veins and sharp teeth underneath it all. Its chin was far too long to look human, splitting into two points at the bottom, just as its forehead had two sloping horns that grew from just above where the ears would normally be.

There was hair, platinum colored, sloping and curling around the back of the creature's head, while its completely black eyes bored into them, fake though they may have been.

_~They were quite powerful, and unique in that they lived on a poisonous planet with no lasting painful effects on their physiology. Due to this adaptation to the natural poisons of their world, they became a deadly race, despite their peaceful nature. A vast force of great power, trained to withstand any threat, protected them. Yet they were still unable to keep from being obliterated by the Manhunters rage and the planet was destroyed. There were no reports of any survivors.~_

"Great." Ollie broke the silence that permeated the room after the news. "So we're being attacked with poison from a dead civilization?"

"How dead are they really?" Bruce questioned immediately. "They have every reason to be mad at Lantern, since he works for the Guardians, and the Manhunters were their fault. Jordan?"

Hal nodded. "R'ng. Cou-ld there h've be'n surviv'rs?"

Everyone was silent as the ring thought for a moment.

~ _Affirmative. The chance is very slim, but some of the Isbinar may have survived the encounter.~_

"So we might be being attacked by some freak alien." Ollie frowned, but nodded thoughtfully. "Okay. I can see why it would attack Hal. But Barry?"

"He's got a point." Allen agreed, "It had no reason to attack me. And the hands on that thing look _nothing_ like the hands that stabbed me."

"So it could just be someone using this ancient civilization's weapons … but why? And how? Why are they targeting us?" Clark murmured, his unfocused eyes resting on the knife.

"The only other lead we have is your attack, Lantern." Bruce moved backwards, letting J'onn in.

" **I will only do this if you believe that you are ready, Hal Jordan.** " J'onn hesitated before he came to the edge of the bed.

"'m ready." Hal managed a nod. J'onn nodded back, and his eyes began to glow twice as brightly as they had before, while Hal's slipped closed.

There was a long silence, awkward enough that Queen had to cover up a nervous giggle with a cough, prompting Barry to grin. Arthur and Diana came in quietly, sensing the mood and avoiding breaking it.

Hal's already sweat-covered face was beading up again, and he shifted in pain, a small whimper escaping his lips. The awkwardness left with the noise, and the mood became somber. Almost everyone was tense, waiting for something big to happen. Something terrible.

Yet none of them were ready when it finally happened.

Hal gave a sudden cry of pain, and his ring sparked and fizzed, almost as though he were attempting to make a construct, but was unable to. J'onn's brow was wrinkled with the shared experience, and he was unconsciously leaning forward as whatever memory they were sharing reached its peak.

Then Hal fell limp, his muscles no longer tight, and J'onn's eyes went back to their normal amount of light. " **It is done.** "

"And?" Bruce's question came out harshly compared with J'onn's soft voice and the previous silence.

" **Whatever attacked him was not the creature that his ring showed us before. It did not speak. It did not attack with a knife.** "

A projected image filled all of their minds, revealing a foul looking creature that looked like a corpse. It was bald with wisps of grey hair floating around it, and its single facial feature was a large, sharp-toothed mouth. It had long, thin fingers that ended in similarly long sharp fingernails, curving at the ends like claws.

Clark found himself recoiling from the disgusting thing. Its hands were the same size as its head, and its feet were like a monkey's. It was thin and grey, with what appeared to be spikes down its back. Closer examination revealed that it was merely the creature's spine.

" _That's_ the thing that got me." Barry breathed from his place in the room.

"Great Hera, what _is_ that foul beast?"

" **It tore the Green Lantern apart with its claws.** " J'onn continued. " **And it administered the poison that way as well.** "

An image of the thing attacking–its mouth wide open and its black fingernails slashing–came to all of their heads. Clark found himself wishing that he could throw the thing into the sun, despite the fact that he usually tried to avoid such violence.

"We need to get this thing," Queen growled, "Before it gets another one of us."

"Agreed." Batman turned to Clark, a strange expression on his face. "Superman has agreed to be bait, and lure the creature out. The rest of us will be monitoring him and waiting for it to strike."

" _All_ of us?" Ollie looked at Hal's peaceful, shining face, then at Barry.

"You can stay and keep an eye on the Watchtower, Arrow. We'll be in touch."

"Okay." Queen was obviously trying to avoid appearing relieved, so Clark averted his gaze back to Bruce, wondering why he had allowed Oliver to stay. It wasn't like him.

"Are we all going to be down there with me? This thing can just pop up anywhere, so we don't know if it will actually go for me." He'd been thinking about that fact ever since J'onn's little excursion into Hal's mind, so he was happy when Bruce nodded.

"It could go for any of us. So sticking close together is our best option."

"Then we're _all_ bait." Clark added, and Bruce looked as though he'd eaten something sour as he nodded again. Superman didn't like how quickly the plan was changing. Perhaps Batman was more tired than he was letting on.

"And what about collateral damage?" Arthur asked, "We don't want civilians to get hurt, so if it's only after us, can't we take it somewhere secluded?"

"Yes! We can draw it into the mountains, and kill it there!" Diana enthused.

"What about Ollie?" Barry pointed out. "He hasn't been poisoned yet." Green Arrow shot the Flash a dirty look for the comment, but the damage had already been done

"Flash has a point, Arrow. It would be better if you came with us. Allen can handle whatever happens up here." Bruce rescinded his earlier order, ignoring Ollie's devastated and annoyed face. Clark's worry doubled as his normally far calmer and self-assured friend changed his plans once again.

"But the chance that it would attack me is-!"

"One we can't afford to take." Bruce turned to all of them. "We can't let it get another one of us, we don't know how it will affect us, and we can't afford to lose. All of Earth depends on us on a daily basis." Batman had obviously been affected deeply by this event, and Clark was certain that Bruce would be blaming himself for everyone they lost to the poison. The sleepless night couldn't have helped, as proven by the fact that the dark knight was becoming lax enough to have to change plans at all.

" **Then we will prepare ourselves.** " J'onn agreed. " **We will not allow it to catch us off-guard again.** "

"Fine." Ollie grunted, and Clark felt bad for him. He wanted to protect his friends just as much as Bruce did, and Clark understood that far too well.

"Don't worry about us. We can handle ourselves." Barry patted Hal's shoulder, despite the fact that Lantern was unresponsive. Judging from Ollie's expression, he wasn't very reassured, but he still acquiesced with a sigh.

"I know."

"Then it's settled. We will not be the prey any longer!" Diana hadn't lost her enthusiasm, and Clark found that it was infectious as a goofy smile spread across his face.

"Okay. Where are we going to lure this thing?"

It took a moment for Batman to respond. "A deserted island is probably the best choice, since it will draw it into the open."

"In that case, I know just the place." Arthur obviously liked the idea, ignoring Barry's soft chuckle ("Hey that rhymed!").

"Take us there." Batman stalked out the door, and Clark followed just behind him. There was silence as they walked to the boom room, and Arthur input the coordinates as soon as they got there.

"Okay. This should set us down right on the island."

"You know the _exact_ coordinates?" Ollie seemed skeptical, but Arthur nodded.

"It's personal."

"Let's go." Bruce stood on the pad, and after setting the timer Aquaman joined him. The rest of them stepped on as well, and the last thing that Clark saw before he boomed was Hal's bloody footprint.

He took a deep breath.

They could handle this thing. Whatever it was, they were the Justice League, and it _wasn't_ going to win. Not if _Clark_ had anything to do with it.

And he was Superman. So he did.

The island was deserted, small and bare. Just what Bruce had wanted. Clark faintly wondered what was so personal about the place to Arthur, but he supposed that he shouldn't question it. They were here now, and the only thing left to do was wait.

So that's what they did.

Clark wasn't the most patient individual in the world, but it soon became apparent that of all of his teammates, only J'onn appeared unaffected by the time that they stood there.

The wait started in silence, but two hours in, Arthur was sitting with his feet in the water next to Diana, having a little chat. Ollie was on his phone, and Clark was debating on whether or not he should strike up a conversation with J'onn or attempt to breach the wall of stone that Bruce had erected.

Another two hours, and Aquaman had attempted to go for a swim, only to have Batman inform him that by leaving the group, he would become an immediate target. Aquaman listened, and stayed on the beach.

Arrow ignored Batman's advice to _him_ , on the other hand, declaring that it was hot and removing his shirt as the sun began to rise.

Diana had begun to exercise, twitching her sword through different positions.

Clark floated next to Bruce, remaining silent after having attempted conversation several times, while J'onn stretched his mind out, to be ready for anything.

Three more hours passed, and the sun was now at its peak. Oliver Queen was splayed out on the ground, shirtless and asleep, despite Batman warning him that he was being an idiot.

Diana was still doing exercises, though her annoyance showed when she drove her sword into the ground with a guttural shout. Arthur had finally just ignored Batman as well, diving into the ocean to be in his element.

Bruce remained vigilant though, along with J'onn, while Clark continued offering moral support.

By the time the sun had begun to set, Clark was wondering if maybe there was a way to stop Ollie from complaining without killing him.

He was tempted to just kill him though.

Aquaman was in and out of the water frequently, and Diana had begun to spar with whoever was willing. They'd all taken a turn except for J'onn. Even Bruce had succumbed to the boredom and gone a round with the Amazon Princess.

Finally, as the moon began to rise, Clark spoke up. "Bruce, do you think we were wrong? Maybe it only attacks us when we're alone."

"Are you suggesting that we let it attack you _without_ backup?" The Batglare was turned on the Man of Steel in its full glory, and Clark didn't back down.

"I agreed to be bait, Bruce. I'm still willing. I have the best chance of defending myself. It's not like its claws are made of kryptonite …"

"It has magic, Clark. It could still do damage, and I'm not willing to risk that."

"Oh really? Well, I'm not willing to risk all of my friends like this! We're wasting time, and we need to _catch_ this thing!" Superman frowned, unable to understand why his friend was acting so … _irrational_.

"This is a waiting game, Clark!" Bruce's voice became hard, well, harder. "One of us will give in soon, and as far as I'm concerned, it's going to give in first."

"Bruce, we can't wait forever-"

"We won't have to." Batman's voice lost its edge for a moment, and he let out a long sigh that had Clark's anger dampening almost immediately. "It will come."

"And if it _doesn't_?"

"Then I was wrong." Bruce's voice no longer had anything behind it. It was just a harsh hollowness that made Clark's throat tighten. He never got the chance to answer though, as just then there was a shout from behind them.

"Auuugh!" It was Ollie, still shirtless, leaping up from where he had been lying, only to fall to one knee. "It got me!"

The whole League had surrounded him in a matter of moments, all of them staring at the knife that was sticking out of his foot. Arrow pulled it out, and they watched with horror as the last of the black poison dripped into his gaping wound, as though drawn towards the blood.

"Oh, … Oh _no._ " Ollie looked at the knife in horror, holding it in loose fingers.

"You were right." Was all Clark could think to say, as he watched yet another member of his team fall to the poison that was slowly overtaking them.

"Where is the beast?!" Diana's eyes were searching the surrounding area as Bruce turned to receive a transmission from the Watchtower in his cowl.

"I didn't see anything." Arthur seemed to be embarrassed, and J'onn merely seemed thoughtful.

" **I felt its mind for a moment. It is human.** "

"That being is a human?" Diana scowled. "And it ran from us like a coward after attacking from behind!"

"If you say it's a man, I am officially leaving." Arthur muttered as she snorted.

" _Men_."

Clark was helping Ollie wrap his foot in a bandage that Bruce had provided, and Green Arrow winced and scowled throughout it. "I can't believe I let that thing sneak up on me! Barry even warned me that I wouldn't expect it- …" He cut himself off, obviously angry at himself and thoroughly embarrassed.

"None of us saw it coming." Clark pointed out.

"Barry _warned_ me. I- ... I should have been ready …" Ollie growled and Bruce turned back to face them.

"The antidote isn't just temporary."

"Lemme guess, it also gives us cancer?" Ollie grunted as the stood, leaning heavily on his left foot. Clark shook his head as Bruce gave a glare, answering,

"The poison is adapting to it. It's beginning to become useless. We need a real cure, and soon."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. These kinds of chapters are always hard to write, and I would SERIOUSLY appreciate any feedback that you guys have got for me on this one.
> 
> I think it needs it.
> 
> So if anything was confusing or unclear to you, PLEASE lemme know what it was and how I could fix it to make it something that's easier to read.
> 
> As always, I appreciate your help and your reading this.
> 
> -Al

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I hope you all enjoyed that as much as I did. :) I recently fixed it up, so if you see anything out of place, PLEASE let me know so I can take care of it.
> 
> If you have any comments, I would love to hear them, even if it's just a sentence. They always make my day.
> 
> Till next time,
> 
> -Al


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